Gala Games exploiter returns $22M from GALA token attack

May 22, 2024 Coin Telegraph

3 steps crypto investors can take to avoid hacks by the Lazarus Group

September 17, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The Lazarus Group has mastered the art of stealing crypto investors’ assets. Here are a few tips on how investors can protect their portfolios.

Cryptocurrency users frequently fall prey to online hacks with Mark Cuban being just the latest high-profile example how nearly a million dollars can leave your digital wallet.

It is possible to substantially bolster the security of your funds by heeding three simple guidelines that will be outlined in this article. But before delving into these, it's crucial to understand the type of threat that exists today.

FBI has clear evidence on the Lazarus Group

The Lazarus Group is a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group, known for their sophisticated attacks linked to various cyberattacks and cybercriminal activities, including the WannaCry ransomware attack.

WannaCry disrupted critical services in numerous organizations, including healthcare institutions and government agencies by encrypting files on infected computers and demanding a ransom payment in Bitcoin (BTC).

One of its earliest crypto-related hacks was the breach of South Korean crypto exchange Yapizon (later rebranded to Youbit) in April 2017, resulting in the theft of 3,831 Bitcoin, worth over $4.5 million at the time.

The Lazarus Group's activities in the cryptocurrency space have raised concerns about its ability to generate funds for the North Korean regime and evade international sanctions. For instance, in 2022 the group was tied to a number of high-profile cryptocurrency hacks, including the theft of $620 million from Axie Infinity bridge Ronin.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) blamed Lazarus Group for the Alphapo, CoinsPaid and Atomic Wallet hacks, stating that losses from all of these hacks add up to over $200 million the group has stolen in 2023.

This month, the FBI have attributed Lazarus Group to a $41 million hack of the crypto gambling site Stake, which was carried out through a spear-phishing campaign that targeted some of its employees.

Lastly, according to blockchain security firm SlowMist, the $55 million hack of the crypto exchange CoinEx was carried out by the North Korean state sponsored hackers.

Most hacks involve social engineering and exploit human error

Contrary to what movies usually display, meaning hackers either gaining physical access to devices or brute forcing passwords, most hacks occur through phishing and social engineering. The attacker relies on human curiosity or greed to entice the victim.

Those hackers may pose as customer support representatives or other trusted figures in order to trick victims into giving up their personal information.

For instance, a hacker might impersonate a company's IT support and call an employee, claiming they need to verify their login credentials for a system update. To build trust, the attacker might use public information about the company and the target's role.

Phishing attacks involve sending deceptive emails or messages to trick recipients into taking malicious actions. An attacker might impersonate a reputable organization, such as a bank, and send an email to a user, asking them to click on a link to verify their account. The link takes them to a fraudulent website where their login credentials are stolen.

Baiting attacks offer something enticing to the victim, such as free software or a job opportunity. An attacker poses as a recruiter and creates a convincing job posting on a reputable job search website. To further establish trust, they may even conduct a fake video interview, and later inform the candidate that they have been selected. The hackers proceed by sending a seemingly innocuous file, like a PDF or a Word document, which contains malware.

How crypto investors can avoid hacks and exploits

Luckily, despite the increasing sophistication and capabilities of hackers today, there are three simple steps you can take to keep your funds safe. Namely:

Use hardware wallets for long-term storage of your crypto assets, not directly connected to the internet, making them highly secure against online threats like phishing attacks or malware. They provide an extra layer of protection by keeping your private keys offline and away from potential hackers.

*Common crypto hardware wallets. Source: Enjin*

Enable Two-Factor Authentication, or 2FA, on all your crypto exchange and wallet accounts. This adds an extra security step by requiring you to provide a one-time code generated by an app like Google Authenticator or Authy. Even if an attacker manages to steal your password, they won't be able to access your accounts.
Be extremely cautious when clicking on links on emails and social media. Scammers often use enticing offers or giveaways to lure victims. Use separate "burner" accounts or wallets for experimenting with new decentralized applications and for airdrops to reduce the risk of losing your funds.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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Alameda tried to redeem 3,000 wBTC days before bankruptcy: BitGo CEO

December 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Alameda Research

The CEO of Bitgo stated that the Alameda representative failed the security verification process required to convert Wrapped BTC into BTC.

Mike Belshe, the CEO of digital asset custodian BitGo has confirmed that Alameda Research attempted to redeem 3,000 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) in the days before FTX’s bankruptcy filing on Nov. 11.

During a Dec. 14 Twitter Spaces hosted by decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher Chris Blec, Belshe confirmed the firm knocked back the redemption request because the unknown Alameda representative involved didn’t pass Bitgo’s security verification process and seemed unfamiliar with how the wrapped Bitcoin burning process worked.

Full convo here. This part starts at 1:09:30. https://t.co/0KQg6bzd8k
— Chris Blec (@ChrisBlec) December 14, 2022

“[The security details] didn't match the process. So we held it up and we said no, no, no, no. This is not what the burn looks like. And we need to know who this person was.”

“So we held it and while we were holding it, waiting for a response on those issues [Alameda] went bankrupt and of course, once they went bankrupt, everything halted,” Belshe added.

The Bitgo CEO also said that Alameda’s 3,000 BTC mint request remains “stuck” on the platform’s dashboard, adding that the firm would most likely leave the tokens where they are until they’re dealt with by the trustees taking on Alameda's bankruptcy case.

*Alameda’s failed mint transaction request of 3,000 wBTC in exchange for 3000 BTC. Source: wBTC Network Dashboard.*

Alameda’s attempt to unwrap the 3,000 wBTC was also confirmed on the Ethereum transaction aggregator Etherscan.

While this would have ordinarily triggered the redemption of BTC, Bitgo has a security mechanism set in place before the conversion takes place, which is what Alameda failed.

It is not understood what the motive was for attempting to redeem the $50 million worth of wBTC, but it is understood that FTX executives were attempting to raise funds from a variety of sources to stave off bankruptcy up until the last minute.

Analysis from Arkham Intelligence on Nov. 25 found that Alameda pulled $204 million from eight different addresses from FTX.US five days before its parent firm eventually filed for Chapter 11.

wBTC is a tokenized version of BTC, which can be redeemed for BTC when it is sent to a burn address, triggeringthe release of BTC. The conversion is made at a 1:1 ratio.

The tokenization of wrapped Bitcoin enables Bitcoin holders to interact with Ethereum-based smart contracts and decentralized applications.

Bitgo co-developed wBTC in 2019 alongside blockchain interoperability protocol Ren and multi-chain liquidity platform Kyber. wBTC is also managed by the decentralized autonomous organization wBTC DAO, which comprises over 30 members.

The wBTC dashboard currently shows that BitGo now holds 202,255 BTC in custody against 199,238 wBTC in circulation, amounting to an overcollateralization rate of 101.51%.

How to mint an NFT on Solana SolSea?

October 8, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Solana SolSea is an alternative to well-established NFT marketplaces like OpenSea. It is more appealing to NFT creators, with low costs, speed and a friendly interface.

The allure of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) has been growing in popularity recently, and for a good reason. Nonfungible tokens are a new form of asset that can represent anything from digital art to game items and are stored on the blockchain ledger. This implies that NFTs are unique, immutable and transparent.

People collect NFTs for a variety of reasons, including art appreciation, value speculation and as part of playing games like Decentraland or Cryptokitties that are based on blockchain technology.

There are many possible reasons that NFTs have become popular, and different people will have different reasons for investing in them. Ethereum has become the go-to network for creating these tokens, with the ERC-721 token standard being the most common in the space. However, this led to severe network congestion, heavy fees, and slow transaction processing times. Consequently, other blockchains have begun to offer their own solutions for NFTs.

One such solution is the Solana blockchain, which provides a high throughput that can process thousands of transactions per second. Solana launched its own NFT standard, called SolSea, which allows for the quick and easy creation of NFTs. This guide will show you how to mint NFTs on Solana — specifically, on SolSea, the network’s largest NFT marketplace.

What is NFT minting and how does it work?

NFT minting refers to the process of converting any sort of digital data into a blockchain-based virtual collectible. Almost any digital file can be converted into a token — MP3, WAV, GIF, JPEG, etc. The digital products or files will be kept in a distributed ledger or decentralized database and cannot be modified, updated or deleted.

The process of adding an item to the blockchain is known as minting. It is similar to how a coin is created in real life. So, how long does it take to mint an NFT? It’s difficult to give an exact number because it depends on the file’s intricacy and the blockchain network’s speed. Nonetheless, most NFT platforms, tools and NFT marketplaces simplify the process of NFT generation.

How does NFT minting work? Minting an NFT usually begins with the creator selecting a marketplace or platform on which to mint their NFTs. In this post, let’s look at how to mint an NFT on Solana SolSea.

How to mint NFTs on Solana SolSea?

Before we dive into how to mint NFTs on Solana, let’s quickly go over what Solana SolSea is. Solana SolSea is a decentralized open market for nonfungible tokens that is less costly, faster and more user-friendly than established markets like OpenSea. It is more appealing to nonfungible token creators due to its low costs, quick transaction times and user-friendly interface.

SolSea NFTs are significantly less costly to mint compared to Ethereum-based NFTs since they do not incur the high transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain.

Guide to minting a SolSea NFT: Step by step

Install Phantom

Phantom is a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet and browser extension. It is often referred to as the MetaMask of Solana due to its similar features and functionality. Go to the Phantom.app and download and install it as an extension for your preferred browser.

Install Phantom as a browser extension

Create a new wallet

After installation, the Phantom icon will appear on the top right Extension button. Click the icon and follow the prompts to create a new wallet. The icon redirects the user to a new page to continue the wallet creation process.

Create a new wallet

The user is given a secret recovery phrase that can be used to restore their Phantom account if they need to reinstall it on another device. If this phrase is lost or written down incorrectly, the wallet cannot be restored and the user may lose their funds, making this step the most important part of creating the wallet. As a result, it’s critical to keep a recovery phrase in a safe and secure location. Phantom will be added to the Browser after completion. It may be accessed by clicking on the Phantom logo in the menu bar.

Funding the wallet

To be able to create NFTs, you must first acquire Solana (SOL), the native cryptocurrency of the Solana blockchain. There are two primary methods for obtaining SOL:

Stake other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) in a validator to earn SOL rewards.
Use an exchange that supports SOL trading pairs to buy SOL with other cryptocurrencies.

Fund the wallet

Once the wallet is funded, the minting process on Solana can begin.

Creating a new account on SolSea

The next step is to create an account on SolSea by connecting the wallet to the SolSea platform. Click on the “Connect Wallet” option at the top right and choose Phantom from the drop-down menu.

Connect a wallet on Solana

A message will appear on the screen asking if it’s okay for Phantom to connect to the wallet. If approved, SolSea will be able to access the funds held in the wallet and any activity related to it and request permission to authorize transactions.

Solana NFT Marketplace

After connecting, users will be redirected to SolSea’s sign-in page. They must enter a valid email address on this page and create a strong password. Users are required to agree with SolSea”s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy before proceeding.

After the account agreement, SolSea sends an email to verify the new SolSea account. The wallet will be linked to the SolSea platform automatically after completion. Now it’s time to mint the NFT using the process below!

Create an NFT Collection

Initially, all NFTs must be created in a collection. Go to the “Create” tab and click on Collection to create a new collection.

Create an NFT collection

Select a title and provide a description of the collection.
Please upload both the header image and the icon.
Add social media accounts and websites (if any). This is important for engagement and marketing purposes.
When ready, click “Create Collection” and sign the transactions to mint the collection. If a message appears saying that your mint transaction failed, don’t fret! It’s likely just a glitch on SolSea’s end. Be patient and the transaction will hopefully go through in due time.

To be sure if the mint was successful, go to the wallet and view the SOL transaction history. If the minting transaction is listed, it means that the NFT collection was successfully created! After the transaction has been verified, go to Wallet and select My Collection.

Minting a SolSea NFT

Follow the steps below to mint a SolSea NFT:

After creating an NFT collection, head back to the Create page and, this time, select “NFT.”
From there, upload the image, video or audio file you wish to mint as an NFT. Make sure to read the requirements for each file type before uploading to avoid any issues. The accepted file formats include MP4, MOV, 3GP, JPEG and PNG for videos and images.
Provide a title and description for the NFT.
Determine the royalty payments. This is the percentage the creator will earn each time THE NFT is resold on the secondary market. The percentage range is from 0% to 50% and may be customized based on the owner’s strategy.

The subsequent sections are optional, but one can complete them, such as a link to the artwork’s page on another site – if there is one – so people may learn more about the work. Choosing the appropriate tags is crucial since they’ll be used in searches.

SolSea is also the first NFT marketplace to embed licenses on NFTs. These licenses ensure that the original creator is always attributed and that they receive royalties from future sales, no matter where the NFT changes hands.

Prior to minting, confirm that all the information is accurate. After an NFT is minted, its attributes can't be revised. Subsequently, after hitting “Mint,” sign the transaction on Solana to finalize the minting process. Congratulations, now check out the newly minted NFT by clicking “See your Mint.”

The new NFT will be automatically added to the Phantom wallet, which you can view next to the $ icon. Once it is listed on SolSea, it will no longer be visible in the wallet.

The next step is to list the NFT.

Simply go to Wallet, and select “NFTs In My Wallet” from the drop-down bar.
Click on “List NFT” and choose a price.
After finishing, return to My Wallet and explore the newly-listed NFT.

Finally, it’s time to market the NFT.

Mint

FBI has clear evidence on the Lazarus Group

Most hacks involve social engineering and exploit human error

How crypto investors can avoid hacks and exploits

What is NFT minting and how does it work?

How to mint NFTs on Solana SolSea?

Guide to minting a SolSea NFT: Step by step

Install Phantom

Create a new wallet

Funding the wallet

Creating a new account on SolSea

Create an NFT Collection

Minting a SolSea NFT

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